A Perspective on Power from Space for Use on Earth PETER E. GLASER1 The illusion that humans have unlimited capabilities to control nature and fashion their environment has instilled in us a naive belief in the unlimited bounty of nature. As a result our planet is facing a crisis. The population is increasing at an overwhelming rate, while we are depleting the Earth’s resources and damaging its ecology. We must be ready to safeguard planet Earth as a home for humanity. We must develop the strategy to move beyond Earth and use the inexhaustible energy and materials resources available to us in the Solar System. And we must act now. We have the chance in this generation to tread a new path. There is a window of opportunity that may, perhaps, be open for only a few decades, before the global challenges humanity faces overwhelm us. These challenges are no longer a matter of debate. A billion people will be added to the world’s population during the next decade. This wave of humanity will have to be fed, clothed and housed to achieve a tolerable living standard. At the same time we must mitigate the predictable and escalating deterioration of the biosphere that is the result of the exponential increase in the human species. The key to meeting these challenges is to develop energy options that no longer rely exclusively on terrestrial sources of energy. Terrestrial sources are either finite, lead to unacceptable environmental impacts, or cannot meet the increasing global energy requirements. More than two decades ago, I proposed the solar power satellite (SPS) concept as a major option to meet future global energy needs. The most significant benefit of obtaining power from space for use on Earth is the continuous generation of electricity to supply the diverse requirements of a civilization that cannot continue to rely primarily on fossil fuels. Over the intervening years, the SPS was assessed and analyzed, and technical, economic and societal issues have been debated. Today the SPS is no longer relegated to the pages of science fiction magazines. Efforts to develop a range of technologies applicable to SPS are underway in Europe, Japan, the former C.I.S. and the United States. The SPS reference system that in the 1970’s was the basis for assessments made in the United States by NASA, the Department of Energy, the National Research Council and the Congressional Office of Technology Assess1 Arthur D. Lottie, Inc. Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
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